Well, from what you are telling me, I don't think your computer can be upgraded much, and the upgrades you can do will be expensive and small... but it is up to you. Upgrading will be cheaper than buying a whole new computer, but when compared to the value of the upgrade parts, you are paying more then new parts sometimes 10x faster/better... however you can boost performance some for $200 or so, as apposed to upwards of $800 for a new computer.
Upgrades can be bought from most local computer stores, and can be found on the internet.
Price Watch® is a good place to look for individual parts.
If you want to buy a new computer, I would suggest you buy either a
Dell or a
Sony Vaio. Dell I know for sure ships for free... Sony I'm not sure. Both of these companies make good systems and in my opinion are #1 and #2 and have similar prices... but Dell pulls out ahead in the PR and tech support department. Dell in my opinion also has the best PR out there for a computer company. Intel will release the Northwood P4 tonight at midnight, and Dell puts out its first Northwood P4 pc at midnight as well, and to my knowledge Dell is the only company that makes one so far. So... the Northwood I can imagine is a little pricy right now, but if you want a P4 I suggest you only get that one... the other two versions were sortta just an appitite pleaser and not the real thing. AMD is also good but run hot and load. The PIII and Celeron II are virtually the same but with a few minor differences, but the Celeron II is much cheaper. Sorry if this is too much at one time... but if you want to upgrade, you will need to check your manual if you have it to see what can be upgraded and by how much, and then you can go to local computer stores and PriceWatch to get the upgrades. If you want to get a new one, you can browse through Dell and Sony online to see if they have anything you like, and then you can either order online or go into a store by your home, where an employee there can be of further assistence. If you want to go new and don't find anything at Dell or Sony,
Gateway is also good... but what ever you do I think you will find the most value and best quality and service at either Dell or Sony. Whatever you do, stay away from Compaq...
If you decide to upgrade, search around for good prices though... I wouldn't put much more than $250 in it. If you let me know if you decide to upgrade or go new... I can then be of further assistence.
